Basis of Presentation

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2012

Basis of Presentation [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

Note 1 — Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of MoneyGram International, Inc. (“MoneyGram” or the “Company”) have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and the instructions to Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included and are of a normal recurring nature. Operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for future periods. For further information, refer to the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Participation Agreement between the Investors and Walmart Stores, Inc. — As previously disclosed, affiliates of Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. (“THL”) and affiliates of Goldman, Sachs & Co. (“Goldman Sachs” and collectively with THL, the “Investors”) have a Participation Agreement with Walmart Stores, Inc. (“Walmart”), under which the Investors are obligated to pay Walmart certain percentages of any accumulated cash payments received by the Investors in excess of the Investors’ original investment in the Company. While the Company is not a party to, and has no obligations to Walmart or additional obligations to the Investors under the Participation Agreement, the Company must recognize the Participation Agreement in its consolidated financial statements as the Company indirectly benefits from the agreement. A liability and the related expense associated with the Participation Agreement are recognized by the Company in the period in which it becomes probable that a liquidity event will occur that would require the Investors to make a payment to Walmart (a “liquidity event”). Upon payment by the Investors to Walmart, the liability is released through a credit to the Company’s additional paid-in capital.

During the three months ended June 30, 2012, one of the Investors sold all of its common stock to an unrelated third-party, resulting in cumulative participation securities payments in excess of its original investment basis. As of June 30, 2012, the performance condition for only this Investor has been achieved. The Investor paid $0.3 million to Walmart for settlement in full of its obligation under the Participation Agreement. As a result, the Company has recognized expense and a corresponding increase to additional paid-in capital during the three and six months ended June 30, 2012.

Any future payments by the Investors to Walmart may result in expense that could be material to the Company’s financial position or results of operations, but would have no impact on the Company’s cash flows. As liquidity events are dependent on many external factors and uncertainties, the Company does not consider a liquidity event to be probable at this time for any other Investors, and has not recognized any further liability or expense related to the Participation Agreement.